Illuminated by Fire

Under the direction of Tracy Bourne, indigenous storytellers led the audience on a journey along the edge of Lake Wendouree, culminating in a fire ceremony performed by local indigenous youth and accompanied by the incredible vocals of the Fire Choir. Involving local community groups, school choirs, youth groups and other artists, the piece recalls our ancient and recent fire histories, and imagines our future in this place.

The project launched Saturday October 23 at 8.00pm at the Indigenous playground, Lake Wendouree Ballarat.

Tracy brought stories of Lake Wendouree's history to Fed Square as part of the installation week in Melbourne. During the day, 3-part vocal group The Flamettes (Tracy Bourne, Maryanne Sam and Emma Clair Ford) charmed audiences with songs about fire. At night, the 40-voice Fire Choir sang moving songs about fire, 2011 belonging and our future. See the program here: Ballarat program

Tracy Bourne is a singer, actor, writer and singing teacher. She has performed for Chamber Made Opera, Next Wave Festival, Libra Ensemble, Melbourne International Festival, and the ABC among others.

Tracy has been Lecturer in Singing at the Arts Academy, University of Ballarat for the last 10 years and is currently undertaking a PhD on music theatre voice at the Sydney Conservatorium, University of Sydney.

What a great night!

It all came together on Saturday night: A beautiful clear Ballarat evening, with an amazing full moon and an audience of over 300 people. The choirs sang beautifully and were lit by sustainable lighting, as well as little fires in jars and hurricane lamps. Our two actors, Maryanne Sam and Myles Walsh led some of the crowd from site to site, while others were excited to travel on the trams. The final images were lit by the full moon hanging above the lake, and the fire choir sang as the 'Fireys' created beautiful fire images with sculptures, flares and fire sticks. Well done to all involved, including the technical crew and other volunteers. Photos and DVD are coming soon.